Sunny Leong was waiting to board a WestJet flight at the Saskatoon airport Sunday afternoon when an airline employee made an announcement over the intercom that shocked everyone in the room.

“I don’t know to explain this (but) this is not exactly like Snakes on a Plane,” the employee said in reference to the campy 2006 film starring Samuel L. Jackson.

The incident Sunday was more like bees near a plane. A huge swarm of the insects descended on a tug, a vehicle used to push aircraft back from the gate, and also onto the aircraft’s front wheels. They stung at least one airport employee before a professional beekeeper was called in to disperse them, according to Lori Sly, vice-president of business development for Skyxe.

“This is definitely a rare situation, certainly nothing that we’ve come across in my time here,” Sly said, adding that concern about bees stinging passengers and moving closer to the Boeing 737 led to the flight being delayed 78 minutes. She said the beekeeper estimated there were “thousands” of the insects.

“Although we regret that the flight took a delay and apologize to our guests, we are very impressed with the way the Skyxe and Menzies (Aviation, the company contracted to provide ramp services) handled the situation,” WestJet spokesman Robert Palmer said in an email.

In 2015, the Saskatoon Airport Authority — which has since rebranded itself as Skyxe — established a 40-hive apiary in the northwest corner of the airport property. Sly said the bees involved in Sunday’s incident did not belong to the airport, and likely stopped to rest on the tug before continuing to an unknown destination.

“It’s fortunate that we do have a good relationship with a beekeeper, and we were able to get that beekeeper out here as quickly as we did,” Sly said.

Leong, meanwhile, said he was more amused than annoyed by the situation. Despite having taken hundreds of commercial flights, the Edmonton-based orthodontist said he had never before heard of bees delaying a departure.

“When in Saskatchewan,” he added with a laugh, “watch out for the bees.”